Excavating equipment of all kinds and sizes include various wear parts to protect the front digging edge from damage and wear. As a result, the wear parts are commonly subjected to highly abrasive materials and used under arduous conditions. To withstand the rigors of digging, the wear parts must be securely held to the excavating equipment to prevent their loss during use. Nevertheless, due to the harsh environment, the parts frequently wear out and need replacement.
A myriad of ways for attaching the wear parts have been developed with varying degrees of success in securely holding the parts during digging and facilitating easy replacement when the part is worn. For example, wear parts are often attached to the digging edge by welding to prevent loss during use. While welding securely holds the parts to the edge, it makes replacement difficult. Buckets and other digging equipment provided with weld-on wear parts are usually taken out of service for replacement in a shop. Such action typically results in the bucket or other digging equipment being out of service for an extended period of time.
To avoid the difficulties posed by welded parts, many wear parts are mechanically attached to the digging edge. For example, wear parts may be secured by Whisler-style attachments, bolting, etc. While such means facilitate replacement in the field, they also require the formation of holes in the digging edge, thus tending to weaken the equipment. Moreover, some mechanical attachments are susceptible to undesirable loosening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,214 discloses a mechanically attached wear member that relies upon a boss instead of holes in the lip. Nevertheless, these parts can be difficult to manufacture and at times experience high levels of stress in the legs under certain loading.